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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (4): 1562-1576    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.08.003
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The enhancements of pore morphology and size distribution by straw return are mediated by increases in aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen

Ying Zhao1, 2, Xiaozeng Han1, Chen Qiu1, 3, Wenxiu Zou1, Xinchun Lu1, Jun Yan1, Xu Chen1#

1 State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150081, China

2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

3 Wenshan Soil and Fertilizer Workstation, Wenshan 663000, China

 Highlights 
Pore morphological characteristics are primarily influenced by long-term straw return.
C and N contents shift between aggregates and SOC fractions within aggregates.
Higher C and N contents increase aggregate porosity and number of pore sizes>100 μm.
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摘要  

秸秆还田可以有效促进土壤有机碳和全氮的积累,对团聚体形成及其孔隙结构具有显著影响。本研究通过连续9秸秆还田试验,设置了4秸秆还田量:6000、9000、1200015000 kg hm-2,探究了团聚体不同密度组分中碳氮含量的变化通过X射线计算机断层扫描CT)技术阐明秸秆还田土壤孔隙形态和分布特征的影响。结果表明,秸秆还田量在1200015000 kg hm-2处理下显著增加团聚体不同密度组分中的碳氮含量,提升了大聚体比例和稳定性,并改变了孔隙结构。秸秆还田后,土壤团聚体内大孔隙(>100 μm)数量、孔隙度及其形态特征得到了显著增加和改善,但总孔隙数显著减少(P<0.05)。团聚体密度组分中碳氮含量的增加是改善团聚体孔隙形态和分布的主要原因,同时孔隙网络的重构有利于团聚体内部碳氮的积累研究结果为秸秆还田下土壤团聚体中碳氮储存与孔隙特征之间的关系提供了理论基础和科学依据



Abstract  

The accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) is easily accomplished by returning crop straw, which strongly affects the formation and pore structure of aggregates, especially in black soil.  We returned maize straw at different rates (6,000, 9,000, 12,000 and 15,000 kg ha–1) for nine years to investigate its influence on the SOC and TN contents in the SOC fractions of aggregates by combining size and density fractionation.  Their subsequent influences on pore morphology and size distribution characteristics were examined using X-ray micro-computed tomography scanning (μCT).  The results showed that returning straw significantly increased the contents of C and N in the SOC fractions of aggregates, especially at the return rates of 12,000 and 15,000 kg ha–1, which in turn promoted aggregate formation and stability, and ultimately amended pore structure.  The pore size>100 μm, porosity (>2 μm), and morphological characteristics (anisotropy, circularity, connectivity and fractal dimension) significantly increased, but the total number of pores significantly decreased (P<0.05).  Our results indicated that the amendment of the pore morphology and size distribution of soil aggregates was primarily controlled by the higher contents of C and N in the density fractions of aggregates, rather than in the aggregate sizes.  Furthermore, this pore network reconfiguration favored the storage of C and N simultaneously.  The findings of this study offer valuable new insights into the relationships between C and N storage and the pore characteristics in soil aggregates under straw return. 

Keywords:  aggregate pore structure       black soil       density fractions       water-stable aggregates       X-ray micro-computed tomography  
Received: 28 March 2024   Accepted: 24 June 2024
Fund: 
This study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1500100), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA28070100) and the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-04).
About author:  Ying Zhao, E-mail: zhaoy@iga.ac.cn; #Correspondence Xu Chen, E-mail: chenxu@iga.ac.cn

Cite this article: 

Ying Zhao, Xiaozeng Han, Chen Qiu, Wenxiu Zou, Xinchun Lu, Jun Yan, Xu Chen. 2025. The enhancements of pore morphology and size distribution by straw return are mediated by increases in aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(4): 1562-1576.

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